Took my daughter to grab breakfast the other day while we were staying in the area. Pulled into the…read moreparking lot, which was virtually empty, and pulled up to what intuitively felt like a logical spot. To be sure, there are no marked spots, and there is a big open space between the bakery and a house that serves as the establishment's parking lot. For the degree of picayune, arbitrary "rules" we immediately met with, there is no readily visible signage specifying where you should or shouldn't park. It's just a wide open space, and again, I pulled into a spot that seemed like a logical place to be out of anyone else's way.
Walked in the door to be greeted with, "You can't park there." Not, "Welcome in, thanks for coming, and I'm sorry, but we have some unique specificities about where people park and kindly ask that you move your car." Just, "You can't park there. Gotta move. You can pull up against that building, or up against this building," or whatever hyperspecific pecadilloes my unkempt-bearded friend had. Just "Not right there in the middle." I was a bit taken aback, because we were obviously passing through quickly, and he could just as easily have served us and sent us on our way rather than impose his rulebook on us about a parking lot that had *no one else in it* at the time, and no obvious clarity about what rules we'd violated, though his tone was very much accusatory.
I told my daughter I'd move the car and she could just pick out what she wanted. I pulled up against the building, then went back in, to find she'd purchased an entire loaf of bread in addition to a croissant, despite only having wanted the croissant. She told me he imposed a $5 card minimum, and she didn't have cash, so bought the loaf just to get it done. Now, I understand credit-card companies charge a fee that can be burdensome on small businesses, particularly on smaller transactions. But at the same time, we are become a predominantly cashless society, and it would be a lot more understandable to simply increase prices to offset credit-card fees, rather than impose transaction minimums, a policy that feels a bit outmoded these days. Finally, on my way out, I realized I had an empty drink can in my hand and looked around for a trash can. The proprietor looked at me dismissively and said, "We don't take trash from items not purchased here." Seriously? I mean, you're based in beautiful central Vermont, you don't want to do your part to help prevent litter in your community?
Any one of these impositions would have seemed harsh. People go to the sticks of Vermont for the laid-back atmosphere, friendly vibes and warm interactions in local businesses. But all three combined struck me as the hallmark of someone who wants to run a retail business while harboring decidedly misanthropic views and a generally negative disposition toward their fellow humans. Everything about the interaction oozed with contempt, and if you read the multitude of reviews from customers with similar parking issues, you'll see the pattern -- this man clearly thrives on people not following his nonsensical, unposted rules because it validates his negative predispositions toward people. A retail proprietor who hates customers. Go figure.
Back in the car, my daughter told me that when I went out to re-park, he stood at the window glaring at me angrily the whole time. She also said the good she purchased were mediocre at best. This is icing on the cake -- no pun intended -- because if you're going to behave like Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi," the key is to offer a product so good, people will submit to your abuse for it. Not the case with Sticky Fingers of West Dover, VT, that's for sure.
On my way out, I looked at him and said, "We won't be back." He yelled, "Yeah, DON'T COME BACK!!!"
Pre-empting my bearded friend's long-winded, shrill, defensive screed claiming I'm in the wrong for trying to "skirt the rules," please check for all the other customers with identical experiences receiving identical feedback on their feedback. A word to the wise -- When every other review is the same complaints, the problem ain't the customers. It's you, my friend. It's you.
